State of Wisconsin
Office of the Senate President
May
14
, 2009
The Honorable, the Senate:
Pursuant to Senate Rule
46 (2)(c), I am writing to inform you that I have directed the following proposal(s) to be withdrawn from committee and rereferred. I have obtained the consent of the appropriate standing committee chairperson and the chairperson of the committee on Senate Organization.
Assembly Bill
122
, relating to
appellate time limits and procedure, withdrawn from committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing and rereferred to committee on Senate Organization.
Assembly Bill
123
, relating to
appellate procedure regarding commitments of persons found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and commitments of sexually violent persons, withdrawn from committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing and rereferred to committee on Senate Organization.
Assembly Bill
124
, relating to
appellate procedure, withdrawn from committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing and rereferred to committee on Senate Organization
.
Sincerely,
FRED A. RISSER
Senate President
__________________
Corrections In:
to 2009 Senate Bill 181
Prepared by the Legislative Reference Bureau
(May 13, 2009)
1. Page 5, line 19: delete "veteran's" and substitute "veterans".
Senate Amendment 1,
to 2009 Senate Bill 181
Prepared by the Legislative Reference Bureau
(May 13, 2009)
1. Page 5, line 8: delete "two" and substitute "2".
2. Page 5, line 21: delete "veteran's" and substitute "veterans".
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
May 12, 2009
The Honorable, The Legislature:
In response to a complaint reported to the Fraud, Waste, and Mismanagement Hotline established by
2007 Wisconsin Act 126, we have completed a limited-scope review of the role of construction engineers in the Department of Transportation's (DOT's) quality assurance process on state highway projects. Construction engineers, who include both DOT staff and private consultants, ensure that construction contractors build highways according to contractual requirements. In fiscal year (FY) 2007-08, construction engineering expenditures totaled an estimated $56.8 million, including $20.8 million in spending related to state staff and $36.0 million paid to private consultants.
Our analysis is focused on state highway projects built with concrete pavement. We reviewed in detail projects begun from FY 2006-07 through FY 2007-08. None of 20 projects we reviewed had any measurements that indicated unacceptable concrete pavement thickness. However, documentation for 11 of the 20 projects indicated that contractors measured the concrete pavement's thickness less frequently than contractually required. State staff served as the lead construction engineer on 7 of the 11 projects, while consultants served in that role on the remaining 4. It is possible the measurements were actually taken but not documented, but we cannot independently confirm this.
To help ensure state highway projects are appropriately constructed, DOT recently modified number of its quality assurance practices for contractors and construction engineers. However, we provide several additional recommendations to help ensure that highways are consistently constructed according to contractual requirements. This is particularly important because the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide Wisconsin with $529.1 million in federal transportation funds, much of which will be used for state highway projects.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DOT in completing this review.
Sincerely,
janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
Relating to wine collectors and small winery cooperative wholesalers.
Submitted by Department of Revenue.
Report received from Agency, May 12, 2009.
Referred to committee on Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief, and Revenue,
May 14, 2009
.
Relating to the identification, classification, and control of invasive species.
Submitted by Department of Natural Resources.
Report received from Agency, May 11, 2009.
Referred to committee on Transportation, Tourism, Forestry, and Natural Resources, May 14, 2009
.
Relating to building contractors and affecting small business.
Submitted by Department of Commerce.
Report received from Agency, May 7, 2009.
Referred to committee on Commerce, Utilities, Energy, and Rail, May 14, 2009
.
__________________
By Patrick E. Fuller, chief clerk.
Mr. President:
I am directed to inform you that the Assembly has concurred in:
Senate Bill 181
__________________
Chief Clerk Marchant, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn until Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
11:16 A.M.
Adjourned.
